Games like BG3 on Game Pass, genuinely matched to what you loved

Flowchart showing Baldur's Gate 3 is not on Game Pass and four turn‑based RPG alternatives that are on Game Pass, each labeled with their main strength.

Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t on Game Pass, and it isn’t coming

Baldur’s Gate 3 is not in the Xbox Game Pass catalogue. Larian CEO Swen Vincke has said that was the plan from the start, and that you won’t find any Larian game on a subscription service.

So this is a list of what’s actually there. Want the closest turn-based systems match? Start with Rogue Trader. Played BG3 in co-op? Jump to Wasteland 3. Loved the writing more than the fighting? The fourth pick is the one no other list will give you.

One thing first. Since the October 2025 restructure, “on Game Pass” means four different plans — and these four games are not on all of them.

ℹ️ Age & Spend Note: Every game here carries an adult rating — Mature 17+ or PEGI 18 in the regions we checked, with content descriptors covering violence, blood, and sexual themes. Check the listing for your own region on the ESRB ratings guide before buying for anyone else. Tier prices and catalogue membership also change monthly; confirm your plan before you commit to a 100-hour campaign.

The four picks, and the tier each one needs

Four games in the catalogue genuinely match Baldur’s Gate 3 at the systems level: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Wasteland 3, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Three run on Xbox console. One doesn’t.

Infographic of Xbox Game Pass tiers (Premium, Ultimate, PC Game Pass) with four RPG picks placed on the tiers they belong to on Game Pass.
Which Game Pass tier do you actually need? This matrix shows where each BG3‑like RPG sits across Premium, Ultimate, and PC Game Pass.
GameGame Pass tierPlatformsLengthBuy price (US)
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue TraderPremium, UltimateXbox Series X|S, PC, Cloud$49.99
Wasteland 3Premium, UltimateXbox One, Series X|S, Cloud—
Torment: Tides of NumeneraPremium, PC, UltimatePC only25–80 hrs (developer estimate)$44.99
Pillars of Eternity II: DeadfirePremium, UltimateXbox One, Series X|S, Cloud100+ hrs (publisher claim)$29.99

⏱️ Verified 18 September 2026: Prices, tiers, and subscription catalogues change constantly. Confirm on the storefront before you buy.

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

Venn diagram comparing Rogue Trader and Baldur's Gate 3 systems on Game Pass, highlighting initiative combat, party assembly, and branching consequence.
Rogue Trader is the closest systems match to Baldur’s Gate 3 on Game Pass — same initiative‑order combat, full party, and permanent consequences.

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC, Cloud · Game Pass: Premium and Ultimate · Price: $49.99 to buy (verified 18 Sept 2026) · Mode: Single-player · Rating: Mature 17+ / PEGI 18.

It’s the only game in the catalogue built on the same bones as BG3 — initiative-order combat with a full party you assemble yourself.

Owlcat came to this from two Pathfinder adaptations, and it shows in how permanently decisions close doors: factions you alienate stay alienated, and the epilogue reflects choices made forty hours earlier. Your companions argue with each other and with you, and their arcs resolve differently depending on which of three alignments you’ve been feeding.

Who it’s not for: if BG3’s rules layer already felt heavy, this is denser, with a harsher opening and a setting that assumes you know what an Astropath is.

⚠️ Heads Up: The base game is included, but the three story expansions — Void Shadows, Lex Imperialis and The Infinite Museion — are separate purchases. The store listing also flags in-app purchases, which are those DLC packs rather than progression gating.

Wasteland 3

Wasteland 3

Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Cloud · Game Pass: Premium and Ultimate · Mode: Single-player and online co-op (2 players) · Rating: PEGI 18.

This is the one you play with the friend you played BG3 with — the only pick here with co-op at all.

Combat is turn-based squad tactics with action points, and the Colorado you leave behind genuinely rearranges itself around your decisions: settlements you side with survive, ones you don’t, don’t. The tone is the opposite of Faerûn — dry, bleak, occasionally very funny — but the decision architecture is the same.

Who it’s not for: it caps at two players, not BG3’s four, and if you came for high fantasy and romance arcs, there aren’t any here.

Torment: Tides of Numenera — PC Game Pass only

Torment: Tides of Numenera

Platforms: PC only — not playable on Xbox console · Game Pass: Premium, PC Game Pass and Ultimate · Price: $44.99 to buy (verified 18 Sept 2026) · Length: 25–80 hrs (developer estimate) · Mode: Single-player · Rating: Mature 17+

If what you actually loved about BG3 was talking your way out of a fight, this is the correct answer in the catalogue and nobody is telling you about it.

Its Crisis system folds dialogue, stealth and environmental problem-solving into turn-based encounters, so a confrontation can end without a single attack roll — the thing BG3 does that almost no other RPG commits to. It’s also the shortest campaign here by a wide margin, which matters if you don’t have another hundred hours in you.

Who it’s not for: the combat is the weakest thing in it, and if you came to BG3 for tactics rather than text, you will be bored.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire — Ultimate Edition

Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Cloud · Game Pass: Premium and Ultimate · Price: $29.99 to buy (verified 18 Sept 2026) · Length: 100+ hrs per playthrough (publisher claim) · Mode: Single-player · Rating: Mature 17+

This is the classic party-based shape — six companions, over a thousand class permutations, and a turn-based mode you can switch on.

Obsidian built companions who react to your choices and to each other, and the Ultimate Edition on Game Pass includes all three expansions rather than selling them back to you. The character creator is the deepest of any pick here if build experimentation was half of why you replayed BG3.

Who it’s not for: the turn-based mode is a toggle bolted onto a real-time-with-pause design, and it shows — pacing is clumsier than a game built turn-based from the start.

💡 Player Tip: You don’t need the first Pillars of Eternity to follow this one, though a short in-game questionnaire lets you set the previous game’s outcomes before you start.

The pick everyone recommends that isn’t a match

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is on Game Pass, it won Game of the Year, and it is the wrong recommendation here. It’s turn-based, and that’s the whole of the overlap — no character creation, no party you assemble, no dice, no branching consequence, no co-op. Matching one surface feature isn’t matching BG3.

Avowed has the same problem with an extra catch: first-person action combat, and it sits on Premium, which it joined in February 2026 rather than at launch. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is action combat with a three-person party and far thinner consequence.

🛒 Where to Get It: If a pick leaves the catalogue mid-playthrough, the official Xbox Game Pass plans and pricing page shows what your tier covers, and each game’s Microsoft Store page sells it outright.

Questions about BG3 alternatives on Game Pass

1. Is Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Game Pass?

No. Larian’s CEO has said BG3 was never going to Game Pass, and that no Larian game goes to subscription services.

2. What’s the closest game to BG3 on Game Pass?

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader — initiative-order turn-based combat, a party you build, and permanent branching consequences.

3. Which Game Pass tier do I need?

All four sit on Premium and Ultimate; Torment also runs on PC Game Pass. Confirm current pricing on the official Xbox plans page.

4. Is Wasteland 3 like Baldur’s Gate 3?

Mechanically yes — turn-based squad combat and decisions that permanently reshape the world. Tonally it’s bleak post-apocalyptic Colorado, not fantasy.

5. Can I play any of these in co-op?

Only Wasteland 3, and it caps at two players online rather than BG3’s four.

6. Is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a BG3 replacement?

No. It’s turn-based and nothing else — no character creation, no party assembly, no branching consequence, no co-op.

7. Is Avowed a good BG3 alternative?

Not for the tactical layer. It’s first-person action combat, and it sits on the Premium tier.

8. How long are these games?

Deadfire claims 100+ hours per playthrough; Torment runs roughly 25–80. Two lengths are still pending verification.

9. Will these leave Game Pass?

Any of them can. Catalogue membership rotates monthly, so check the current catalogue before starting a long campaign.

10. Are any of these suitable for teenagers?

No. All four carry adult ratings in the regions we checked. Check your region’s listing on the official ESRB or PEGI page.

What to download tonight

Closest match, and the one to start with: Rogue Trader. Playing with a friend: Wasteland 3. There for the writing, on PC: Torment. Classic party shape: Deadfire.

Not on Xbox? The same matching logic, applied to the Switch 2 catalogue, or the full set matched to what you actually loved about BG3.


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